Background and career
Isaac Edward Slade (born May 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his work with the rock band The Fray.
Slade attended the University of Colorado Denver, where he was enrolled as a music and entertainment industry studies major. He received a Bachelor of Music. Slade started singing when he was eight years old, and began playing the piano at eleven, after temporarily losing his voice. He wrote his first song when he was sixteen and learned to play guitar when he was in high school.
Slade joined Ember, a band which consisted of Slade and his future band-mates Dave Welsh and Ben Wysocki. The band soon dissolved, and later, in the spring of 2002, Slade ran into former school-mate and vocalist/guitarist Joe King in a record store. The two began regular jam sessions, which led to writing songs. They later added Slade's younger brother, Caleb, on bass and Zach Johnson on drums.
Dave Welsh and Ben Wysocki re-joined Slade and King, to form the Fray. They soon released Movement EP, and in 2003, they released Reason EP to some local critical acclaim, particularly by Denver's Westword alternative newsweekly. Despite these reviews, the band struggled to launch a single. Denver radio station KTCL rejected eight of their songs before the band decided to submit "Cable Car". The song found airplay on a KTCL radio show highlighting local bands and the radio station received a large number of requests for it soon thereafter. The band changed the name of the song to "Over My Head (Cable Car)", and by the end of 2005, it had become KTCL's most played song of the year.
On March 12, 2022, Slade announced on Instagram that he had parted ways with the Fray, following a series of onstage panic attacks, with his final concert with the band held at Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois, on May 14, 2022. Since his departure, Slade now runs a record store on Vashon Island, Washington. On December 9, 2025, Slade announced his first ever solo tour titled the "Songs I Know" tour, in which he performs songs from his back catalogue, some new material, and songs that inspired him as a young artist.
On October 9, 2026, it was reported that Slade would be performing alongside Ed Sheeran as an opening act on the singer-songwriter's Loop Tour.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
